Melinda Camber Porter
Encyclopedia
Melinda Camber Porter was an artist, author, poet, journalist and filmmaker. Porter was a modernist who worked in oils, watercolor and ink. She was known for combining the mediums of film, painting and writing.
Her works have been shown at The School of Visual Arts in New York, Oxford University, the Embassy of France, La Maison Francaise and Lincoln Center’s Clark Theatre. Her paintings, poetry and films have been critically well-received. Porter was modest and kept a low profile, preferring to focus on her family and art.
As a journalist, Porter interviewed renowned writers, artists and filmmakers of the past several decades for The Times
. Several of her interview subjects became lifelong friends, including filmmakers Louis Malle
and Wim Wenders
.
For over 25 years she lived at the Hotel Des Artistes in New York City where she married, raised her two children and created her art. After a prolonged battle with ovarian cancer, Porter died aged 55 at the family home in Sag Harbor, New York where she had convalesced.
. Porter also had half-brother Nard Camber and half-sister Sheinard Camber from her father's first marriage. She also had a step-sister Sarah Trevelyan, daughter of British film censor John Trevelyan, who married Porter's mother Rosalie later in life.
Her father was a psychoanalyst who kept his offices in the family home in the center of London’s medical district. From early on, Porter was exposed to the arts, frequenting the National Gallery, and immersing herself in drawing and painting. At age 6, she was given William Blake
’s Songs of Innocence and Experience which would later influence her visual style of writing.
Porter’s elementary education was at the City of London School for Girls. In her junior year, she was awarded scholarships to both Oxford and Cambridge. In honor of this, the school granted the students a day off, a privilege normally reserved only for the death of royalty. She chose Oxford and earned a First Class Honours degree in Modern Languages (French and Latin), graduating from Lady Margaret Hall in 1974. While an undergraduate at Oxford, she met John Porter, the son of Sir Leslie Porter and Lady Shirley Porter, the heir to the Tesco supermarket empire. After graduation, she and John moved to Paris where they married.
The young couple lived on the Quai Voltaire overlooking the Louvre
. The marriage ended after five years and Porter relocated to New York in 1982, settling at the Hotel Des Artistes, where she would maintain residence for the remainder of her life.
The couple divided their time between Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Porter and Flicek had two sons, Robert and James. After Porter
was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the family took up permanent residence in Sag Harbor for her convalescence. Porter passed away on October 9, 2008 at the age of 55.
and Louis Malle
. Porter also profiled directors Mike Nichols
and Ingmar Bergman
. A number of these interviews became part of her book, Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture.
Over her career with The Times, Porter interviewed personalities from film, literature, theater and human rights from around the world. Before meeting Saul Bellow
, she read his twenty books in just thirty days and prior to interviewing directors, she would watch each of their films.
Her works have been shown at The School of Visual Arts in New York, Oxford University, the Embassy of France, La Maison Francaise and Lincoln Center’s Clark Theatre. Her paintings, poetry and films have been critically well-received. Porter was modest and kept a low profile, preferring to focus on her family and art.
As a journalist, Porter interviewed renowned writers, artists and filmmakers of the past several decades for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. Several of her interview subjects became lifelong friends, including filmmakers Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
and Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
.
For over 25 years she lived at the Hotel Des Artistes in New York City where she married, raised her two children and created her art. After a prolonged battle with ovarian cancer, Porter died aged 55 at the family home in Sag Harbor, New York where she had convalesced.
Early Life and Education
Melinda Camber was born September 18, 1953 in London to Bernard Camber and Rosalie Evelyn Salzedo. Porter and her older sister Lynn were raised on Wimpole Street, in the house used in the film My Fair LadyMy Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
. Porter also had half-brother Nard Camber and half-sister Sheinard Camber from her father's first marriage. She also had a step-sister Sarah Trevelyan, daughter of British film censor John Trevelyan, who married Porter's mother Rosalie later in life.
Her father was a psychoanalyst who kept his offices in the family home in the center of London’s medical district. From early on, Porter was exposed to the arts, frequenting the National Gallery, and immersing herself in drawing and painting. At age 6, she was given William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
’s Songs of Innocence and Experience which would later influence her visual style of writing.
Porter’s elementary education was at the City of London School for Girls. In her junior year, she was awarded scholarships to both Oxford and Cambridge. In honor of this, the school granted the students a day off, a privilege normally reserved only for the death of royalty. She chose Oxford and earned a First Class Honours degree in Modern Languages (French and Latin), graduating from Lady Margaret Hall in 1974. While an undergraduate at Oxford, she met John Porter, the son of Sir Leslie Porter and Lady Shirley Porter, the heir to the Tesco supermarket empire. After graduation, she and John moved to Paris where they married.
The young couple lived on the Quai Voltaire overlooking the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. The marriage ended after five years and Porter relocated to New York in 1982, settling at the Hotel Des Artistes, where she would maintain residence for the remainder of her life.
Family Life
Porter met her second husband, Joseph Flicek, a technology entrepreneur, at an Amnesty International volunteer group in Manhattan. They married on July 2, 1985 in his native South Dakota and honeymooned in China. She based a series of paintings and the novel Floating Boundary on the trip to China. Frequent visits with Flicek’s family in South Dakota, led to her novel, Badlands.The couple divided their time between Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Porter and Flicek had two sons, Robert and James. After Porter
was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the family took up permanent residence in Sag Harbor for her convalescence. Porter passed away on October 9, 2008 at the age of 55.
Early career
While in Paris, Porter was a French cultural correspondent for The Times of London. She interviewed many notable figures including Francois TruffautFrançois Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
and Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
. Porter also profiled directors Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
and Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
. A number of these interviews became part of her book, Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture.
Over her career with The Times, Porter interviewed personalities from film, literature, theater and human rights from around the world. Before meeting Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, she read his twenty books in just thirty days and prior to interviewing directors, she would watch each of their films.
Interviews and Profiles
- Philippe Adrien – director (screen/stage), actor, writer (screen/stage)
- Myvda Alexeeva
- Laurie AndersonLaurie AndersonLaura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
– musician, performance artist - Anthony AndrewsAnthony Andrews-Life and career:Andrews was born in London, the son of Geraldine Agnes , a dancer, and Stanley Thomas Andrews, a musical arranger and musical conductor. He grew up in the North Finchley district of London...
– actor - Jean AnouilhJean AnouilhJean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
– playwright - Michelangelo AntonioniMichelangelo AntonioniMichelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
– director - Michael AptedMichael AptedMichael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
– director, producer, screenwriter, actor - Jean-Paul AronJean-Paul AronJean-Paul Aron was a French writer, philosopher and journalist. His most notable work is Les Modernes, which was published in 1984. He was an early person of renown in France to die of AIDS, and is widely credited for giving the disease a human face and challenging the public perception of the...
– writer, philosopher, journalist - Jean-Louis BarraultJean-Louis BarraultJean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
– director, actor, mime artist - Saul BellowSaul BellowSaul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
– writer - Bence
- Ingmar BergmanIngmar BergmanErnst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
– director, screenwriter, producer - Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
– director, screenwriter - Jacqueline BissetJacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
– actor - Breyten BreytenbachBreyten BreytenbachBreyten Breytenbach is a South African writer and painter with French citizenship.-Biography:Breyten Breytenbach was born in Bonnievale, Western Cape, approximately 180 km from Cape Town and 100 km from the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas...
– painter, poet - Peter BrookPeter BrookPeter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
– director (screen/stage), writer - David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– musician, songwriter, artist - Marcel CarneMarcel Carné-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
– director - Kit Carson
- John CassavetesJohn CassavetesJohn Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
– director, actor, screenwriter - Costa-GavrasCosta-GavrasCosta-Gavras, is a Greek filmmaker, who lives and works in France, best known for films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller, Z...
– filmmaker - Liliana CavaniLiliana CavaniLiliana Cavani is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers that came into prominence in the 1970s and includes Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Marco Bellochio. Cavani became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature...
– director, screenwriter - Regis DebrayRégis DebrayJules Régis Debray is a French intellectual, journalist, government official and professor. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in human society; and for having fought in 1967 with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in...
– journalist, professor, communist intellectual - Joan DidionJoan DidionJoan Didion is an American author best known for her novels and her literary journalism. Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation...
– author, essayist - Mike and Cathy Diocino
- Marguerite DurasMarguerite DurasMarguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
– writer, director - Jean EustacheJean EustacheJean Eustache was a French filmmaker. During his short career, he completed numerous shorts, in addition to a pair of highly regarded features, of which the first, The Mother and the Whore, is considered a key work of post-Nouvelle Vague French cinema.In his obituary for Eustache, the influential...
– filmmaker - Federico FelliniFederico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
– director, screenwriter - Albert FinneyAlbert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
– actor - Michael Fitzgerald – journalist, writer, editor
- Francoise GiroudFrançoise GiroudFrançoise Giroud, born France Gourdji was a French journalist, screenwriter, writer and politician.-Biography:...
– journalist, writer, politician - Gunter GrassGünter GrassGünter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
– author, poet, playwright, artist, sculptor - Michael HastingsMichael HastingsMichael Hastings or Mike Hastings may refer to:*Michael Hastings , British playwright, screen-writer, novelist and poet...
– playwright, screenwriter - Aryeh NeierAryeh NeierAryeh Neier is an American human rights activist who serves as the president of the Open Society Institute and had earlier been Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and National Director of the American Civil Liberties Union....
– human rights activist - John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
– director, screenwriter, actor - Eugene IonescoEugène IonescoEugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
– playwright, dramatist - Edmond James – artist
- Akira KurosawaAkira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
– director, screenwriter - Bernard KouchnerBernard KouchnerBernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...
– politician, diplomat, humanitarian - Bernard-Henri LevyBernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
– philosopher, journalist, public intellectual - Roy LichtensteinRoy LichtensteinRoy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
– pop artist - Michael LonsdaleMichael LonsdaleMichael Lonsdale , sometimes billed as Michel Lonsdale, is a French actor who has appeared in over 180 films and television shows....
– actor - Louis MalleLouis MalleLouis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
– director, screenwriter, producer - Andre MalrauxAndré MalrauxAndré Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
– adventurer, author, statesman - Florence Malraux – activist, journalist
- Peter Matthiesen – novelist, writer, activist
- Juan MendezJuan MendezJuan Mendez is a professional basketball player who played for the Niagara University men's university basketball team from 2001 to 2005...
– human rights activist - Yves MontandYves Montand-Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...
– actor, singer - Mike NicholsMike NicholsMike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
– director, writer, producer - Hubert Nyssen – writer, publisher
- Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
– novelist - Marcel OphulsMarcel OphulsMarcel Ophüls is a documentary film maker and former actor.He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of the director Max Ophüls...
– documentary filmmaker - Nagisa OshimaNagisa Oshimais a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....
– director, screenwriter - Alan ParkerAlan ParkerSir Alan William Parker, CBE is an English film director, producer, writer and actor. He has been active in both the British cinema and American cinema and was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.-Life and career:...
– director, producer, writer, actor - Octavio PazOctavio PazOctavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
– writer, poet, diplomat, Nobel laureate - Mike Posner – human rights activist
- Ishmael ReedIshmael ReedIshmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
– poet, essayist, novelist - Alain ResnaisAlain ResnaisAlain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
– director - Jean-Francois RevelJean-François RevelJean-François Revel was a French politician, journalist, author, prolific philosopher and member of the Académie française from June 1998...
– politician, journalist, author, philosopher - Alain Robbe-GrilletAlain Robbe-GrilletAlain Robbe-Grillet , was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on March 25, 2004, succeeding Maurice...
– writer, filmmaker - Eric RohmerÉric RohmerÉric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....
– director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter - Francoise SaganFrançoise SaganFrançoise Sagan – real name Françoise Quoirez – was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Hailed as "a charming little monster" by François Mauriac on the front page of Le Figaro, Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois...
– playwright, novelist, screenwriter - Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
– existential philosopher, playwright, novelist activist - John SaylesJohn SaylesJohn Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
– director, screenwriter - Martin ScorseseMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
– director, screenwriter, film historian - Delphine SeyrigDelphine SeyrigDelphine Claire Beltiane Seyrig was a stage and film actress and a film director.-Early life:...
– actor (screen/stage), director - Bertrand TavernierBertrand TavernierBertrand Tavernier is a French director, screenwriter, actor, and producer.-Life and career:Tavernier was born in Lyon, the son of Geneviève and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, several years president of the French PEN club. Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker since the age of thirteen...
– director, screenwriter, actor, producer - Olivier Todd – novelist, biographer
- Peter TrippiPeter TrippiPeter Trippi is editor of Fine Art Connoisseur, a bimonthly magazine for collectors of representational painting, sculpture, drawings and prints—both historical and contemporary...
– editor Fine Art Connoisseur - Francois TruffautFrançois TruffautFrançois Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
– filmmaker, film critic - Roger VadimRoger VadimRoger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
– actor, journalist, director, screenwriter - Michel Veuthey – humanitarian activist
- Jon VoightJon VoightJonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
– actor - Wim WendersWim WendersErnst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
– director, playwright, author, photographer, producer - Monique WittigMonique WittigMonique Wittig was a French author and feminist theorist who wrote about overcoming socially enforced gender roles and who coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". She published her first novel, L'Opoponax, in 1964...
– author, feminist theorist - George WolfeGeorge WolfeGeorge Wolfe may refer to:*George C. Wolfe , African-American playwright and director*George Wolfe , Irish Cumann na nGaedhael TD 1923–1932*George Wolfe , US government administrator in Iraq...
– playwright, director (screen/stage) - Susannah YorkSusannah YorkSusannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
– actor - Yugosia
Body of Work
In addition to her journalism, Porter created a quantity of poetry, paintings, drawings, plays and films. Porter was known for combining painting with prose.Oils, Watercolors and Drawings
- Triptych Series – religious altar pieces, large oils on canvas
- Barcelona Point Series – sky & water spiritual seascapes, large oils on canvas
- Luminous Bodies Series– body and soul in mourning, watercolors on paper
- Horses of Chauvet Series – mankind and horses for centuries, oils on canvas
- Caves of Chauvet Series – spirits of the past merge with today, watercolors and oils
- The Art of Love Series – all forms of expression of love, watercolors and oils
- Night Angel Series – one woman musical, large oils on canvas
- Earthly Fidelity Series – pleasure and pain of addictive love, watercolors
- Frank Series – love relationships in the 1970s, watercolors
- Wedding Series – autobiographical depiction of artist’s wedding, watercolors
- China Series – images from China & Hong Kong travels, watercolors
- Mother & Child or Birth Series – depicting mothers and newborns, watercolors
- Déclarations D’Amour Series – illustrated poems from Paris, pen and ink
- Badlands Series – elemental images of Pine Ridge, SD, oils and watercolors
- Adolescence Series – paintings from artist’s childhood in London, watercolors
- Playa Manuel Antonio Series – Pacific beaches of Costa Rica, oils
- Arenal Volcan Series – tropical forests of Costa Rica, oils
- Recuperation Series – getting better from cancer surgery, oils
- Living in Lightness and Dark Series – themes of cancer convalescence, oils
- Bliss Series – calming the emotions, pen and ink and watercolors
- Self-Portraits Series – emotions of an artist, oils and watercolors
- Icons Series – religious icon forms, small oils on untreated canvas
- Waves and Particles Series – transformation following death, oils and watercolors
Non-Fiction
- Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture (pub. 1986)
- Art of Love: Love Poems and Paintings (pub. 1993)
- The Arousal of Nature (pub. 2004)
- Visions on Film: Portraits of Leading Contemporary Film Directors (pub. 2009)
- William Blake Illuminates the Works of Melinda Camber Porter (pub. 2006)
Novels
- Frank – forward by Saul Bellow
- Boat Child: A Comedy (pub. 1994)
- Badlands (pub. 1996) Book of the Month Club selection
- Imogen
- Floating Boundary – Book One: Hong Kong
- Floating Boundary – Book Two: China Arrives
- Floating Boundary – Book Three: Freedom or Tyranny
- Child of the Western World
Stageplays
- Journey to Benares’ A Rock Opera (perf. Asia Society Museum, NY)
- Night Angel (perf. Lincoln Center’s Clark Theater)
- Boat Child (perf. Denver Center for the Performing Arts)
Documentary Films
- Vision on Film: Michael Apted (shorts I and II)
- Luminous Journey (short)
- The Art of Love: Paintings and Writings of Melinda Camber Porter (public television program 1994-1998)
- Sacred Journey (television – Vision Television and APTN Canada 2001-2004)
- Joyce Beroneo on Photography
- The Kitchen (Paris in the 1970s)
Poetry Collections
- Early Years – Poems as student in London
- The Art of Love – love and relationships
- Déclarations D’Amours – illustrated French poems from Paris
- Healing – spiritual nature of healing
- For Robert & James – love for her children
- The Ritual:Volume I – from life in Paris
- The Ritual: Volume II – from life in Paris
- Expanse of Oceans & Seas – interactions with water
- Gardens of Life – embraced by nature
- Emotions – overwhelmed
- Luminous Bodies – mourning ones loss
- Women Embraced – spiritual feelings
- Love Brings Conflicts – the unexplained
- Earthly Fidelity – bonded to mother earth
- Women and Horses – exchanges of energy
- Human Conflicts – why
- Where is God – religious searching
- Into the Waves – a place after death
- The Interviewer – communication by listening
- Ancestors – parents and before
- Finding Love – where in relationships
- Illness – how to overcome
- Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome – no one listens
Unfinished Works
- Martin Scorsese – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
- Michael Apted – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
- Wim Wenders – Visions on Film (documentary feature)
- Recuperation Series – watercolors, oils, poetry
- A New Cosmology in Modern Art: Melinda Camber Porter (biography on the artist)
Public Exhibitions
- British Consulate New York – A Retrospective of Ms. Porter’s Art and Literature – 2006
- School of Visual ArtsSchool of Visual ArtsThe School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
New York – Because of William Blake a New Art -2006 - Paul Labrecque Salons New York – The Art of Horses and Lovers – 2005
- Walter Wickiser Gallery New York – The Arousal of Nature – 2005
- Art for Healing Gallery New York – The Art of Healing – 2005
- Oxford University UK – William Blake Illuminates Ms. Porter’s Works (lecture by Robin Hamlyn, Senior curator of prints and drawings for Tate Museum) – 2004
- Asia SocietyAsia SocietyThe Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...
and Museum New York – Journey to Benares, a Rock Opera – 2003 - Southampton CollegeSouthampton CollegeStony Brook Southampton is a campus location of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, located in Southampton, New York between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island. The campus features an innovative curriculum devoted to...
Southampton, NY – Native America Spirituality – 1999 - The Nicolaysen Art Museum Casper WY – Art of Horses and Lovers – 1997
- The Sioux Falls Civic Fine Arts Center SD – Badlands, Horses and Lovers – 1996
- The Salon Des Artistes New York – The Film Censor’s Step-Daughter – 1996
- The Foothills Art Center Golden, CO – Badlands, Horses and Lovers – 1996
- Lincoln Center New York – Night Angel, a One-Woman Musical – 1996
- The West Hartford Art League – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1995
- L’Alliance Française de New Orleans – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1995
- The Embassy of France Washington DC – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
- L’Alliance Française de Miami – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
- L’Alliance Française de San Francisco – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
- L’Alliance Française de Houston – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
- L’Alliance Française de Chicago – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1994
- The French Library in Boston – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature -1994
- National Theatre Conservatory of the Denver – Boat Child, a Comedy – 1993
- The French Cultural Embassy New York – Ms. Porter’s French Art, Film & Literature – 1993
Critical Praise
Below are some reviews from prominent publications and people.- The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
– “The subject of the sensual—what a human being can experience through the physical self and the senses, and the profound effect of that experience is at the heart of Ms. Camber Porter's output as both an artist and writer. . . This painter-novelist draws a line between erotic and obscene."
- Saul BellowSaul BellowSaul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
– “The great “meltdown” of modern sexual anarchy is the real subject of Melinda Camber Porter's novel FRANK. To judge by the electronic speed of her narrative and the Stendhalian decisiveness of her characters she has learned all there is to learn about the anarchic phase (if it is a phase). Nevertheless she has some hope for a post-anarchic future. Even now, she seems to say, love is possible. A kind of love, perhaps. Some kind of love. Readers will understand, without coaching, what she means.”
- Mike NicholsMike NicholsMike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
– “Frank is a pleasure in every way and is extremely well written. I don’t think of it so much as an erotic novel as a romantic one, although I see why it could be considered erotic. I liked the book very much.”
- Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
– "Badlands is a very strong, very intelligent and very intriguing novel."
- Peter MatthiessenPeter MatthiessenPeter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...
– "Melinda Camber Porter should be congratulated on BADLANDS: she knows her subject thoroughly; her vision is lyrical, yet unflinching. BADLANDS is an achievement."
- Louis MalleLouis MalleLouis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
– "Badlands is an extraordinary book. Its imagery makes one think of William Blake. Better than a novel, it reads like a fierce poem, with a devastating effect on our self-esteem."
- Joan DidionJoan DidionJoan Didion is an American author best known for her novels and her literary journalism. Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation...
– "In Badlands, Melinda Camber Porter has focused her English intelligence on America and rendered it as an uneasy dream of sex and death and abandonment, a mirage with the power of possession."
- The New York Times – “Sensuality is at the heart of Porter's work. Badlands is a narrative with a weighty sensuality.”
- San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
– "For those passionate about French arts and culture, Melinda Camber Porter's Through Parisian Eyes is like a daylong trip to the candy store. Porter's eclectic gathering provides an area of interest for almost every palate. A well-rounded, intelligent look at the contemporary Parisian spirit."
- Boston Sunday Globe – "Through Parisian Eyes is a particularly readable and brilliantly compiled collection. The voices of French intellectuals mingle in this uniquely constructed volume of interviews and commentary."
- Philadelphia Inquirer – "Through Parisian Eyes is an inviting opportunity to tap into Paris' thinking... thanks to Porter's willingness to listen well and challenge when necessary."
- Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
– "The issues that are raised in Through Parisian Eyes are intriguing. It is very well done."